The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the nation’s overall mover rate increased from a record low of 11.6 percent in 2011 to 12.0 percent in 2012. About 36.5 million people 1 year and older moved, an increase from the 2011 estimate of 35.1 million. In 2012, the majority of people who lived at a different residence 1 year ago moved within the same county (64.4 percent). Among the 11.8 million inter-county movers — people who moved to another county, either within the same state or to a different state — the most common distance moved was less than 50 miles, with 40.2 percent. Therefore, even though they moved to a different county, the largest percentage did not move far from their previous place of residence. “The overall mover rate for the nation has increased since a record low. However, compared to previous years, mobility is still low for even our most mobile age group (18 to 29 year olds),” said Alison Fields, chief of the Census Bureau's Journey-to-Work and Migration Statistics Branch. “The statistics on migration come from two different surveys that, taken together, allow a clear and detailed picture of the movement of people in the U.S.” The Most Common State-to-State Moves Today the Census Bureau also released state-to-state migration flow tables with 2011 American Community Survey estimates. The American Community Survey provides demographic, social, economic and housing statistics, including geographical mobility for every community across the nation every year. The most common state-to-state moves in 2011 were: • New York to Florida: 59,288 movers • California to Texas: 58,992 • California to Arizona: 49,635 • Florida to Georgia: 42,666 • New Jersey to New York: 41,450 • New York to New Jersey: 40,815 • California to Nevada: 40,114 • Georgia to Florida: 38,658 • California to Washington: 38,421 • Texas to California: 37,087 It should be noted that the top 10 migration flows may not be significantly different from each other or flows outside the top 10.
